Glenveagh Castle ( ga, Caisleán Ghleann Bheatha ) is a large castellated

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located in Glenveagh National Park,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and was built in about 1870.

History

Captain John George Adair built Glenveagh Castle between 1867 and 1873. It stands within the boundaries of Glenveagh National Park, near both

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

and

Gweedore Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Croll ...

. It is built in the Scottish baronial architectural style and consists of a four-story rectangular

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, surrounded by a

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

, and a backdrop of some 165.4 km² (40,873 acres) of mountains, lakes, glens and woods complete with a herd of

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

. The Irish ''Gleann Bheatha (Bheithe)'' translates into English as "Glen of the Birch Trees". The visitor center has displays that explain the park as well as an audio-visual show and is accessible for patrons with disabilities.

Captain Adair

The castle was built by Captain John George Adair (

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 &n ...

), a native of

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

, and a member of the minor

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

. Adair had made his fortune by chancy

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and he returned to Ireland and bought up vast tracts of land in Donegal. Adair had married in

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional Soccer, football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 & ...

, Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, a daughter of James S. Wadsworth, a Union general in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. Together they set about the creation of the gardens and castle. Adair's ambition was to create an estate and castle that surpassed Balmoral, Queen Victoria's Scottish retreat. John Adair is remembered with scant affection in Donegal. On the heels of the Great Famine and emigration on a par with the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase result ...

, John Adair evicted 224 tenants from their

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ga, teach dubh ; gd, t(a)igh-dubh ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Is ...

s on his land. This was not for financial gain, but merely to improve the aesthetic aspect from the castle. These tenant clearances are known as the "Derryveagh Evictions". The name of John George Adair as a Donegal landlord has passed into history and folklore, ballad and documentary. All have one thing in common – Adair was notoriously cruel. He purchased Glenveagh and Gartan in 1859 making an estate of . His troubles with the tenants began almost immediately. A row between them and Adair over shooting rights and trespassing sheep culminated in the murder of his Scottish steward James Murrog. Consequently, Adair carried out his threat to evict the tenancy. On 3 April 1861, a considerable cortege of 200 police, three sub officers, the resident magistrate and the sub-sheriff set out from Letterkenny to undertake their duties. The evictions began at Lough Barra, where a widow, Mrs Hanna McAward and her six daughters and one son were the first to suffer. The work of destruction continued for three days through Magerashangan, Staghall, Claggan, Ardator and Castletown among other townlands. In all, 44 families were evicted making a total of 244 persons. It is said that a curse was placed on the castle due to the cruel evictions so that none of the subsequent owners had heirs to the family names. Many of the evicted went to the

work house Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal ...

in Letterkenny, others were helped by locals and the clergy also raised money. In Australia, the ''Donegal Relief Fund'' was revitalized and arrangements were made to help the young people aged between 16 and 28 years to emigrate. Many took advantage of the scheme. As they settled in Sydney the strong

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...

ensured that the descendants remembered their families' bitter memories. His widow

Cornelia Adair Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair (April 6, 1837 – September 22, 1921) was a Texas ranch landowner. Early life Born Cornelia Wadsworth on April, 6, 1837, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was one of six children of James S. Wadsworth and Mar ...

(1837–1921) took over the ownership after John Adair's death in 1885. She lived part of the time at Glenveagh Castle, and, unlike Adair, was popular, improved the beauty of the castle grounds and was considerate of the townspeople. They left no children. The

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

and his wife the Duchess were guests of Mrs. Adair in September 1902. Internationally renowned

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Professor

Arthur Kingsley Porter Arthur Kingsley Porter (1883–1933) was an American archaeologist, art historian, and medievalist. He was chair of Harvard University’s art history department, and was the first American scholar of Romanesque architecture to achieve internat ...

purchased Glenveagh Castle and the surrounding property from the Adair estate in 1929. Porter and his wife Lucy used it as a second home, displayed his significant art collection, and entertained guests. Porter also built a fishing cottage on Inishbofin Island. He disappeared mysteriously from that area on 8 July 1933. Porter's widow, Lucy, sold the castle and properties to

Henry Plumer McIlhenny Henry Plumer McIlhenny (October 7, 1910 – May 11, 1986) was an American connoisseur of art and antiques, world traveler, socialite, philanthropist, curator and chairman of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Early life and art collections During hi ...

of Philadelphia. McIlhenny was a friend and former student of Porter's at Harvard University.

Henry Plumer McIlhenny

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

purchased the estate in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

, having rented it during the summer months since 1933. McIlhenny left the gardens and castle to the Irish nation in the 1970s, so that Glenveagh National Park could be created, but continued to use the castle as a part-time residence until 1982.

Gallery

File:IE Glenveagh Castle 01.jpg, Glenveagh Castle (2015) File:III Glenveagh National Park, Ireland (2).jpg, Glenveagh National Park File:Glenveagh Castle 2.jpg, Glenveagh File:Glenveagh Castle - geograph.org.uk - 395086.jpg, Glenveagh Castle

References

External links

Glenveagh Castle GardensGlenveagh National ParkGlenveagh Heritage Site
{{Historic Irish houses Castles in County Donegal Scottish baronial architecture Museums in County Donegal Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Gardens in County Donegal